


The Seven Doctors

by ddietz315



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:08:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21861979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ddietz315/pseuds/ddietz315
Summary: The Master's attempt to free the legendary Time Lord Omega from his prison in an anti-matter universe not only threatens Gallifrey but the life of the (Seventh) Doctor himself! He must call upon his previous selves to stop the evil renegades from destroying the Time Lords and conquering the universe.
Comments: 16
Kudos: 8
Collections: Doctor Who Fanfics





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written as a 25th Anniversary story back in 1988. Because, at the time, both William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton had died, their roles in the story are limited to what would essentially be archived footage from previous episodes. I also wrote this story after only seeing "Time and the Rani," so the Seventh Doctor is based on Sylvester McCoy's initial portrayal of the character and not what it eventually became.

"Horrid. Absolutely horrid!"

The black garbed figure observed this as he stepped out of what looked like a Greek Corinthian Column. The column looked out of place in the dark, dank, swampy environment, but the man most certainly didn't. He looked perfectly at home here, even though this place was making him nervous.

From his cloak, he pulled out what looked like some kind of tracer. He clicked it on and it hummed to life. He slowly turned round in a circle until it clicked loudly and insistently.

That way, into the darkest part of the mire.

He gulped at the prospect of going in there; but if he was to succeed, he must.

Slowly and cautiously he made his way through the mess of mangled trees. Overhead, he heard the cry of a Grindal. He looked up to see the great mythological monster soaring high above him. Its membranous wings were outstretched as far as they would go. He held the tracer for dear life and proceeded onward.

When the figure had cleared through a mess of tangled vines, he saw his quarry. It was a magnificent column far greater than his own. It rose so high he could not even see the top of it. It seemed to spiral up and up. And lightning flashed around it with such regularity and consistency that it actually appeared as though the column itself was the source of the lightning

"No matter," the figure said to himself.

He walked toward the single door at the bottom of the column. He arrived to find the door was held closed by some sort of impenetrable force. He had suspected as much. On the door was the ancient symbol of the Time Lands of Gallifrey. The ones who had built the place.

He took out a black device from his cloak. He moved it in circles around the door. Within seconds, a pink light began to shimmer about the door. It did so for about a minute before it disappeared. Then, the door opened.

The figure stepped through the now-open archway and into a long narrow hallway. It was lined with shields, trophies, and armor from Gallifreyan ancient history. The black-garbed figure marveled at such treasures. Then, at the end of the hall, a brilliant yellow light shone all around. The figure was blinded for a moment but then in them, in the middle of it, he saw a tall figure. This one was clad in a long, studded robe and wore a mask that appeared metallic and covered his entire head. The lights on the mask lit in perfect synchronization with the words as it spoke.

"Who are you?!" It boomed menacingly. "What are you doing here?!"

"Omega…" the black-clad figured gasped. "Are you Omega – the greatest Time Lord of all time?"

"Yes."

"And were you banished here by the Time Lords for your numerous crimes against the state of Gallifrey?"

"I was. But who are you?" Omega boomed.

The figure in black smiled. "I am the Master," he proudly said. "And I've come to help you."

* * *

The tall blue box with the light on top spun on it is axis Is it traveled through the space-time vortex.

Inside the control room of the TARDIS sat Melanie Bush, one-time computer programmer from Sussex. She was filing her fingernails watching the illuminated center column of the TARDIS console rise and fall as it seemed to do endlessly whenever the Doctor set it on auto pilot.

"Doctor?" she called.

She opened the main doorway to the console room and entered a long corridor. She walked its length calling for the Doctor, but receiving no answers. Just then, she came upon a door from which seemed to be muffling some wild shouting on its other side. She opened the door and walked into a huge cathedral-like room. On the walls were numerous paintings by the greatest artists in the universe which the Doctor had collected in his travels. There were even some paintings done by the Doctor himself.

And there in the center of this gallery—jumping wildly up and down at a canvass—was the short man Melanie knew as the Doctor This was the Doctor's Seventh incarnation. He was short and sported a pullover adorned with question marks along with a paisley tie and a white coat, plaid trousers, and a rather silly looking straw hat.

At the moment, his hat and coat were on a chair and he sported a red beret as he jumped and hollered. He was stroking something up and down: a paint brush.

"Doctor," Melanie began, stifling a chuckle. "What on Earth are you doing? "

"Painting Mel," he said in his usual excited voice. "That's the spice of life, you know! "

"I thought variety was."

"Oh," the Doctor said disappointingly. "Is it? Well no matter. Take a look at my newest masterpiece!"

Melanie studied the canvass, "Well, I'm no art critic Doctor, but it just looks like a lot of black lines to me."

"Yes, that's the beauty of it! Its simplicity!"

"Doctor, where did you learn to paint like this? "

"Why, on Earth of course. Charming man: Van Gogh, I think was his name. Nice guy. Had a terrible insecurity about his ears though."

Melanie could not help but chuckle now. The Doctor had been a little unbalanced since his forced regeneration after his trial on Gallifrey. His train of thought trailed off from time to time, and he also had these fits of shear zaniness. But all in all, he was a much nicer person to be around than his previous self.

He removed his beret, flung it across the room, and then picked his coat and hat off the chair and put them on. "Well Mel," he said. "What do you think?"

"About this collection? It's incredible."

"Nothing compared to the Louvre. Now there's an artist's dream! Y'know, I don't believe I've ever taken you there. Would you like to see it? "

"I'd love it!"

"I'm sure you would. Romana always did."

That was another thing, he constantly made references to people she did not know. Oh well, she thought, nothing to do but laugh it off. She followed him to the console room.

* * *

"How is it that _you_ may help me?" Omega boomed.

The Master strolled around Omega, enjoying the sense of authority he now seemed to have. "Back from where I came, I have a TARDIS in which we can escape and go to Gallifrey to destroy our mutual enemies: The Time Lords!"

"You are forgetting something. This is a world of anti- matter. I can only exist in anti-matter environments. Besides that, those cretins would call for the help of the one called 'the Doctor.' How do you propose to get rid of _both_ of these problems?"

"With one fatal blow!" The Master said dramatically. "Aboard my TARDIS, there is a device which will effectively rid us of the Doctor and give you a new regeneration."

"You are lying!" Omega stormed.

"No," said the Master nervously. "No. Wh... what makes you say that?"

"Because, if you did have such a device, you would have used already used it on yourself. Oh yes, I know of your interminable conflict with the Doctor and how you... steal bodies instead of regenerating. You waste my time."

"How can you pass up an opportunity like this? I learned of your existence from the people who developed the device. Together, we could crush The Time Lords!"

Omega was silent. This pitiful fool had a point, and he could not argue with the possibilities it presented. "Very well," he said. "I will join you..."

"Good," the Master replied. "Follow me." The Master walked out the door, his cloak flowing as he led the way to his TARDIS, Omega stayed behind for second.

"...For the moment," he said to himself.

* * *

There it was: The out-of-place Corinthian column that was the Master's TARDIS. When Omega stepped inside, he found it quite ordinary. It was much like the TARDIS he once owned, with the exception of the black walls and floor. The Master then asked him to be follow him through the console room's main door out into the main corridor.

After a few moments' walk, the two found a door at the end of the hall. The Master opened the door to reveal a huge cathedral-like room. Though similar to the Doctor's art gallery, it had some startling differences, like being black and having rows of glass (or similar clear materiel) cells.

The most startling difference of all was the machine in the center of the room. It was about seven feet tall and had a series of lights, dials and a rectangular screen in the center. The most striking features were the seven globes on top of the machine. Omega studied the machine with keen interest

"Is this it?" he asked.

"Yes," the Master replied.

"It is a most unique construction. How does it work?"

"Even if I had a thousand years, I couldn't _begin_ to tell to tell you how it works. But put simply, it's a variation of the Time Scoop."

"The Time Scoop? That is merely a legend."

"Oh," the Master said fleetingly, "it was quite real, believe me. But this device scans backward in time to find its quarry and pluck them up into one of those Spheres on top. And that person's memories and experiences are stored there, and their energies are stored in the main batteries. Once it is filled, it will give you the power to regenerate."

"And it is of course..." Omega began.

The Master nodded, "Set to the Doctor's brain pattern. Once we have all seven of his regenerations stored, you will live again! And now..." The Master paused dramatically. "Observe."

The Master touched a series of buttons and the machine hummed to life. The screen began to flicker and finally, an image began to form…

* * *

The old man was running down a crystal - lined corridor with a young woman. They were obviously trying to get away from something. This was the Doctor as he first appeared, as an old man in an elaborate black coat and vest with a black ribbon tie. The woman was his granddaughter Susan and she looked worried.

"Oh," the old man gasped. "I must rest. I'm getting too old for this."

"Alright, Grandfather," Susan replied. "I think we lost it for a moment."

Suddenly a blue laser bolt singed right by them almost burning through the Doctor's cane. Susan helped her grandfather up and they began to run down the corridor as more bolts singed by them. The automaton cry they heard behind them was not friendly.

They were being chased by a Dalek!

The Doctor and Susan could run no further. They had hit a dead end. They turned to face their nemesis. The Dalek stood there; its gun arm pointed directly at them.

"You - are - the - Doc-tor," it said its electronic staccato cadence. "You – will – be - ex-ter-min-a-ted."

The Doctor and Susan were prepared to meet their fate when all of a sudden, the Dalek began to glow as a shimmering energy engulfed it. The Doctor and Susan raised their arms to shield their eyes as the energy surrounding the Dalek grew in intensity. Within seconds, the energy field disappeared; and so had the Dalek.

The Doctor and Susan lowered their arms and stared straight ahead, confused. "Grandfather," Susan gasped." I... I don't understand."

"And don't like it," he replied. "I have a bad feeling abou..." Suddenly the shimmering energy field returned. This time, it engulfed the Doctor. Susan screamed as the as the energy field built up just as it had before. And once it faded, the Doctor too was gone.

Susan took a moment to process what had just happened before taking the only course of action she could: Go back to the TARDIS and wait.

And hope…

* * *

"You're going to love Paris, Mel," the short Doctor said as he operated the console, the main column rising and falling. "Beautiful city," he continued, "full of beauty, history, ideology and..." The Docter stopped. He put his hand on his head and his eyes bulged wide. He looked like he was going to pass out, but he quickly recovered.

"Doctor?" Melanie asked. "Are you alright? "

"Wha...?" the Doctor said, momentarily confused. Then he quickly added, "...Oh. 'Course I am. Small problem for a minute, Susan, but I've worked it out. Now, where was I? Oh yes, Paris!"

Now Melanie was concerned, the Doctor had made several references to his past travelers before, but he had never actually called Melanie by one of their names. And why did he look so sick a few moments ago? Melanie decided to keep a close watch on him.


	2. Chapter 2

The Master watched with almost child-like glee as the aged face of the first Doctor contorted as if in agony in the first sphere on the machine. Omega observed in a more serious frame of mind.

"You see," the Master began. "Now all the energy and knowledge of the Doctor's first incarnation is in here. The Doctor now will begin to feel side effects."

"You are a fool!" Omega boomed. "He will send a recall signal to his other regenerations in time and space!

"Which will only make our task of catching them considerably simpler."

Omega had not thought about this. This... _Master_... had thought of all the possibilities. Perhaps he was more worthy to follow than Omega had originally thought.

But once again, the Master touched a series of buttons on the device and the screen came to life again...

* * *

"Do ye think we're safe, Doctor?" The man in the Highlander outfit with the lilting Scotch accent queried.

"I don't know, Jamie," the Doctor said. "They don't tire you know."

This was the Doctor's second incarnation. He was short in stature, had an ugly mop of black hair and had on a coat, bow tie, and plaid trousers that made him look very much like a "cosmic hobo." The Doctor looked at his other companion, Zoe, a woman from the future.

"I thought you said we'd shaken them off, Doctor," Zoe said. "Well, I can't always be right you know," the Doctor said defensively.

"And this is one of those times, Doctor," a resonant automaton voice stated. The Doctor and his two companions put their hands in the air and slowly turned around to face their captors.

Cybermen.

The leader of these robot-like monsters approached the Doctor and his friends. "You have interfered with our plans for the last time Doctor," The Cyber Leader said. "Now, prepare to be deleted!"

Suddenly the Cybermen began to sputter and spark as though they had been hit by some sort of ray. They toppled to the ground groaning and twitching as they died.

"What happened to them?" Zoe asked.

"Och, don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Zoe." Jamie said.

The Doctor bent over to examine the Cybermen. He rose from the ground with a frown on his face. "I don't like this at all," he said.

"I have a bad feeling that something very nasty is about to happen!"

It did. The Doctor began to sparkle and fade as he was caught up in the vortex. Jamie and Zoe tried to help him but the ray (or whatever it was) knocked them to the ground. They recovered in time to see the Doctor fade out of existence.

* * *

The Doctor operated the TARDIS console guiding the ship on its course to Earth. Suddenly his eyes began to bulge and he gasped for breath and then fell to the floor. Melanie rushed over to the Doctor's side. She tried to shake him and bring him back to consciousness.

"Doctor," she cried. "Doctor! Please wake up. I can't fly the TARDIS you know!"

The Doctor's eyes opened and he looked around "Jamie?" he said confused. Then he looked at Melanie. "Ah, Zoe. Help me to my feet won't you, my dear? "

Melanie did so. As she helped him, she noticed most of the vim and vigor that was in his eyes was gone. She was very worried. "Doctor," she asked. "What's wrong with you? You've been doing this for hours now."

"What," the Doctor said uncertainly, "are you talking about?"

"Well, you've almost fainted twice, and you've referred to me as both 'Susan' and, uh, 'Zoe.'"

"Well it's very simple Mel, you see..." The light began to dawn on the Doctor. "Oh no. Not again. It can't happen again."

"What can't happen again?"

"What did I call you?"

"'Susan' and 'Zoe.' But what...?!"

"Companions," the Doctor said. "From two of my previous lives."

"Doctor what's going on?"

"Somebody's trying to take me out of time again. "

Melanie Knew about the Doctor's previous regenerations and thanks to him understood that time flowed in a continuous cycle. Past, present, and future intermixed concurrently, which is how the Time Lords could develop a practical time travel system. Consequently, she understood what the Doctor meant.

"You mean someone's using a machine and going into the past and stealing your earlier regenerations?" she asked.

"Yes," the Doctor said. "It happened once before a long time ago, but I made sure the Time Scoop was destroyed. Therefore, this must be something completely different." The Doctor wobbled on his feet again. "And infinitely more powerful. I'm too weak. I can't figure it out by myself."

"Doctor, what can we do?"

"Get me over to the side of the TARDIS console." Melanie helped the Doctor to the far left side of the TARDIS console where he pressed a blue button hidden from the others on the console. "There," he said. "Maybe I can save them from being captured too."

"Doctor, what was that button?"

"The recall switch."

"Recall switch...?" she thought aloud. "You mean you've called for..."

The Doctor nodded, "My other selves."

* * *

Sarah Jane Smith, journalist, observed the lush green countryside.

With every breath, she took in the aromatic fragrance that filled the air. It was beautiful here, something to write home about, she thought. Her pink coat and long black hair fluttered when the gentle breeze blew.

"Why can't all planets be like this?" she asked to no one in particular.

"If they were, our trips would be rather boring, wouldn't they?"

Sarah turned and saw the Doctor approach her from the TARDIS. This

was the Third Doctor. A tall, slender man in a black smoking jacket with a ruffled collar and an aged face under a mane of prematurely white hair "But look at it, Doctor," Sarah began again. "No Daleks, no Silurians, no Ogrons, no Sea Devils. It's just peaceful and quiet."

"Peaceful and quiet," the Doctor snorted. "What this place needs is a little toxic waste!" Sarah was surprised. The Doctor never talked like this before. But then he had never acted before the way he was acting now.

"Sorry," he said.

"Another fit of anger?" Sarah asked concerned.

"Yes, I... I don't know what's wrong with me, Sarah. Maybe I need this vocation on Pollux VII after all." He put his arm around her shoulders and watched Pollux VII's twin blue suns set.

Then, from in his pocket, he heard a beeping sound. Sarah couldn't help but snicker at that: A Doctor with a pager! The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out a black calculator-size device with a red light flashing on top.

"What is it?" Sarah asked.

"This," the Doctor said with fervor, "may be the reason behind my fits. It's the recall switch. Apparently one of my future selves is in need of assistance. Come On!"

Sarah moaned but followed the Doctor to the TARDIS. Once again he had cut a possible holiday short, but watching those twin suns set was getting kind of boring.

* * *

The wind whipped and a frigid air filled the stony sands of Brighton Beach. It always did in late October. The popular British resort was empty now except for one particular chaise lounge. The figure resting on it wore a maroon overcoat and a hat which currently covered his face. Though it was difficult to tell at the moment, he was very tall and slender beneath his wardrobe and appeared to be sleeping. The maroon scarf he wore was also extraordinarily long. Almost as tall as he was.

Up from the beach came a petite blonde-haired woman. She was in what appeared to be a sailor-type bathing suit and straw hat. She looked very much like a little girl; but in reality, was 114 years old and had great knowledge. She approached the tall man on the chaise lounge and playfully slammed her beach ball on his stomach.

The man awoke instantly and moved his hat up to reveal his face. It was slender and ruggedly handsome, and his hair covered his head in long brown, curly locks.

"Well, Doctor," the woman said. "You've managed to land us in the wrong time of year yet again!"

"Well, Romana," the fourth Doctor pleaded. "You can't expect me to get it right all the time, you know."

"Once, twice, or three times I can understand a foul up. But FIVE times?"

"Romana, I promise you. Next time I'll get it right."

The Doctor covered his face with his hat again.

"That's what you said the last time. And the time before that and the time before that!"

The Doctor snored in response to Romana's accusation.

What was wrong with him? He'd been sleeping more and more recently. At first it seemed like overwork. But once he almost fainted trying to bring the TARDIS here. Romana began to suspect something was wrong.

Suddenly, from inside the Doctor's pocket an insistent beeping sounded. Romana—being a Time Lord herself—recognized it as the recall signal remote. Romana tried to rouse the Doctor but he bolted up immediately.

"Sssh," The Doctor said looking around. "I've got a ringing in my ears."

"Doctor, it's your..." Romana was cut off.

"Ssssh. I have to shake my head to get it out." He did so.

As he did, Romana reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the black calculator-sized device with the flashing red light on top. She held it out to the Doctor, who stopped shaking his head and looked down "Ah," he said snatching it up. "The recall remote. Clever thing, aren't you?" He meant the remote.

"Doctor, do you know what this means?" Romana asked.

"Oh yes," he said fearfully. "It means one of my other selves is in trouble. We have to go to him. Come on!" The Doctor lead Romana back to the TARDIS. He was about to enter but stopped.

"Doctor, what is it?"

"Romana, I think you're about to meet the new me." He put the TARDIS key into the keyhole and opened the door. "Come to think of it," he continued. " _I'm_ about to meet the new me."

* * *

The forest was a peaceful place indeed. Where one could stay and collect his/hers/its thoughts, and especially this one on Ceres V. With its purple-needled pines and red sun, it made one feel at rest. Putting some one at rest was exactly what was going on.

In a clearing where the sun shone brightly through a hole in the forest-roof, Nyssa placed one of the more beautiful flowers of Ceres V on the grave stone. Nyssa—who had lost her world of Traken because of the Master—had joined the Doctor only to find and destroy him. She had met only defeat in that task and now she had lost something more precious.

Her friend Adric.

Killed in a Cybermen attack, he died bravely to save them all: Her, Tegan Jovanka, and the Doctor. Nyssa rose and sighed as the tears in her eyes welled up.

"I will miss him," she sobbed.

"We all will," Tegan replied.

The former airline-stewardess-to-be looked down at Adric's grave. The inscription read, "Beloved friend: Adric" and above it was a hologram of Adric smiling and next to that, Adric's badge for mathematical excellence that the Doctor had reassembled onto the stone.

Tegan turned to the Doctor (who was in his fifth incarnation) and noticed he seemed to show no emotion. He rarely did. His Edwardian cricketer clothes were only broken by the fact that instead of his usual stalk of celery in his upper right lapel, he had a black orchid.

Nyssa looked at Adric's smiling visage and began to cry. She melted into Tegan's arms who held her gently as she cried. "Why did he do it?" she said in a broken voice.

"To save us all," Tegan replied softly. "He valued our lives more than his..."

At that moment, the Doctor suddenly burst into a state of hysterical laughter.

Nyssa and Tegan turned to him and saw him fall to the ground. On the ground, he was laughing worse than a hyena.

"Doctor!" Nyssa cried. "How can you act this way at a time like this!?"

As abruptly as he began, the Doctor stopped laughing and was his usual calm self again. He quickly rose to his feet with a perplexed expression across his youthful face. After a moment, it hit him: He had upset Nyssa.

"Oh, good heavens!" he exclaimed. "I'm so sorry. I... I didn't…"

Tegan interrupted him. "It's okay, Doctor. We know you haven't been yourself, lately."

"I know, and that's what's bothering me. I can't figure out why I've been acting like this."

Suddenly there came a familiar beep in his coat pocket. He didn't have to look. He knew exactly what it was. His face lit up.

"Doctor, what's going on? What's that noise?" Nyssa asked.

"The answer!" he exclaimed. "Back to the TARDIS!"

The two girls followed the Doctor back to the TARDIS, which was parked a short distance away. They walked in the open door and saw the Doctor staring at a spot on the console of the TARDIS. It flashed with a blue light. The Doctor looked at his two companions.

"Recall signal," he said.

"You mean," Tegan said, one of your other selves is in trouble?"

The Doctor nodded.

"Well, which one?" Nyssa asked.

The Doctor studied the console. "Sixth regeneration," he read aloud. "Good lord, there are seven of me! Well, at least I last that long. Hang on, you two. We're going for a ride."

* * *

The man with blonde curly locks and a motley colored coat sat on a small cliff overlooking a rather large lake. He was reclining on the sand, leisurely holding a fishing rod. He was studying a book in the other hand. The man was the sixth incarnation of the Doctor and the book's title read _Great Game Fish of the Universe_. It was this book that brought him here to Rigel IV.

"Hmm," he read aloud. " _The Great Dragonfish of Rigel IV is the most voracious eater in the universe. At about twenty-sever feet long, it eats all variety of sea plant and animal life. The largest one on record was a whopping fifty-sev_... Good Heavens! _Fifty-seven feet long and four hundred twenty pounds_! Humph! Only a Sontaran could handle it."

Suddenly, he felt a tug at his line. It became insistent and stronger until finally his pole bent wildly from the incredible force on it.

"Ohhh…!" the Doctor groaned enthusiastically. "That Regulan blood worm is paying off! Must be a good forty pounds!" The pole bent more and almost jerked the Doctor in the salty lake. "More! Maybe a new universal fishing record!"

It was then that the Doctor felt like he was going to pass out. He was being pulled along the ground by the monstrous hit. "Oh no," he moaned disappointedly. "Not again!" It was either let it go or go into the drink and maybe drown. He let the pole go. As he recovered, he watched it sink below the surface.

"Bye, bye record," the Doctor waved sadly.

The Doctor sighed and picked up his gear. He went back to the TARDIS, and was preparing to leave when he heard a beeping sound.

"Oh, dear. What now?" He entered the TARDIS and walked over to the console. He saw the console's blue light.

"Well, no wonder I've been passing out." He studied the location of the Recall signal's source point. "Hmmm..." he muttered. "Looks like I'm going to get a sneak peak of my new self. Wonderful!"


	3. Chapter 3

The Doctor looked outside at space through his scanner screen. What he had hoped to see had not yet appeared. "Come on," he said. "I gave a fixed time and space. So, where are you?!"

Outside, there appeared in the quadrant northwest of the TARDIS, another. Tall and blue with the white light flashing on top of it. "Finally," the Doctor sighed.

A moment later, another TARDIS appeared in the North east quadrant above the TARDIS. Moments later in the southwest quadrant another appeared. Finally, in the southeast quadrant the last TARDIS that would appear did.

Melanie gazed out at the sight of the other four TARDISes. She had never seen four appear at once. "Incredible," she said. She then noticed that the Doctor had moved to the console and began flipping a series of switches and buttons. Then, he looked outside to the other four TARDISes.

They slowly began to revolve around the Doctor's TARDIS.

They gained speed; and as they did, they began to close on the Doctor's TARDIS.

Faster and faster, closer and closer, until in a brilliant flash of light They were one. One TARDIS with the others (as well as their occupants) inside.

"Now what?" Melanie asked.

"Any minute now," the Doctor said.

First through the door to the console room were Sarah Jane Smith and the Third Doctor. Sarah looked at the console room in awe.

It was much bigger than that of the Third Doctor's TARDIS. The Third Doctor however, went without a word to the console and began flipping switches and pushing buttons. Sarah Jane wasn't exactly sure what her Doctor was doing. She cleared her throat trying to signal to her Doctor that he had once again forgotten his manners. The Third Doctor either didn't catch on or ignored her; so, she decided to break the ice with the other occupants in the room. "Hello," she said. "I'm Sarah Jane Smith."

"Hello again, Sarah," the Doctor replied. "This is Melanie Bush."

He indicated his assistant. "Call me 'Mel,'" she said smiling, as the two women met and shook hands.

Finally, the Third Doctor looked up.

"Well," he began. "Everything appears to be in order here. Oh, I see you've met Sarah. Good, good. So what seems to be the prob...?"

He stopped because he had noticed his latest regeneration. Short and ridiculous looking. He swallowed what he was about to say and went back to his work just as the door to the console room opened once again.

This time, Romana and the Fourth Doctor entered the room. This Doctor too went without a word to the console and began flicking switches and pressing buttons.

Romana, on the other hand, noticed the others present in the TARDIS and tried to bring them to the Fourth Doctor's attention.

"Doctor..." she began.

"Not now, Romana," the Fourth Doctor interrupted. "I have to make sure our TARDIS is intact in this ship's memory bank."

"Doctor..." Romana persisted.

The Doctor cast a glare at her. "Not now, Romana. _I'm busy_!"

Romana shook her head and walked over to the other two girls and extended her hand to them. "Hello. My name is Romanadevoratrelundar."

"Hello." Melanie replied, shaking her hand, "I'm Melanie Bush. Ro... Roma..."

"Romanadevoratrelundar. Everyone calls me 'Romana,' though."

"Oh," Sarah said. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Romana."

"Hello, Romana."

Romana turned her head and saw the small Doctor standing at the other end of the TARDIS console. She knew immediately it was him. He had the same eyes, the same inquisitive child-like appearance. She slowly approached him and then embraced him with her right arm.

"It's good to see you're well, Doctor," Romana said.

Sarah at first did not notice that the Doctor that had accompanied Romana was the second Doctor she knew. The curly hair and that ridiculous scarf could be recognized anywhere.

"Doctor!" Sarah called out.

The Fourth Doctor looked up to see a familiar face. "Sarah! My dear old thing, how are you? It's so terribly nice to see you again!"

"Sarah," the Third Doctor intervened. "You once mentioned something about a 'teeth and curls' regeneration. Is uh..."

"Yes." Sarah said.

"Oh," the Third Doctor said. "I guess anything's an improvement."

"An improvement over what?" The Fourth Doctor inquired.

The Third Doctor cocked his head towards the Doctor.

The Fourth Doctor then looked at this new regeneration. The shorter Doctor grinned widely and politely lifted his hat. _And people thought I_ _dress funny_ , the Fourth Doctor mused.

Just then, Nyssa, Tegan, and the young-looking Fifth Doctor entered the console room. Like his previous selves, the Fifth Doctor went to the console and began flipping switches. Nyssa and Tegan remembered this console room well as it was exactly the same as their TARDIS, with the obvious exception of the new occupants.

Tegan and Nyssa waved hello to the Fourth Doctor, whom they had known all too briefly. He smiled and waved at both of them. Tegan and Sarah greeted each other again while Nyssa met Melanie and Romana.

The Third Doctor then remembered this young Doctor at the console. "Why my dear boy, how are you?"

"Oh, hello to you, too," the Fifth Doctor replied. "I'm fine. Can't complain. Does anybody have any idea what's going on?"

"We'd hoped to put our heads together and come up with something."

"Temporal displacement, do you think?" The Fourth Doctor asked.

"Yes. That's something you ought to know something about," the Fifth Doctor stated. "Getting yourself caught up in a space-time vortex, affecting my existence. Or don't you remember that?"

"Now, see here! That was something which I had absolutely no control over! It simply happened!"

"Oh brother," the current Doctor sighed, rolling his eyes.

Just then, the Sixth Doctor entered the console room. Like the others before him, he went over to the console to make sure his TARDIS was intact in the TARDIS' memory banks. Melanie recognized this Doctor as the first she knew.

"Doctor! How are you? Are you still getting enough exercise."

"Oh, hello Mel," the Sixth Doctor began. He then looked around and saw the others in the TARDIS. Familiar faces all. "And Nyssa, Sarah, Tegan, and Romana!" He then noticed his other selves at the console. "Oh, and you three as well."

"What do you mean 'as well'!?" The Third Doctor asked.

"Or 'you three'?!" The Four the Doctor asked.

"And what exactly do you mean by… 'oh'?" The Fifth Doctor asked.

"Oh, never mind that! Which one of you is the new me?" The Sixth Doctor asked. The other three Doctors slowly, simultaneously turned their heads to the little man at the other end of the TARDIS console. The Sixth Doctor looked at the small man bending down.

"Oh dear," he said distastefully.

"I know," the Fifth Doctor said. "It's like I always say: The trouble with regeneration is you never know what you're going to get."

"Especially a forced one," Melanie said.

"Oh yes," the Sixth Doctor nodded. "I'd almost forgotten."

"I know the feeling myself," the Third Doctor said.

"Well, now that we have all this nonsense settled," the Fourth Doctor declared. "Can we please get onto the business of why we're here?"

And so, the heated debate began…

* * *

In the Master's TARDIS in the anti-matter universe, the Master watched with glee as the screen displayed the remaining five Doctors' meeting. Omega was still and silent but watched with great interest.

"You see, Omega?" the Master began. "They're all together and arguing amongst themselves. Everything is going exactly as I've planned."

"So far. What do you plan to do next?"

"Sooner or later, one of the Doctors will suggest they go to Gallifrey. It's the only place that they could go to gain the information they desire. It is also the focal point through which I will separate the Doctors and capture them one by one."

"And with their life forces in this machine, you will make me whole again so that I may enter the real universe and conquer Gallifrey."

"And then," the Master paused. "The rest of the universe!"

* * *

The noise and confusion abound the TARDIS was almost unbearable. The Doctors argued back and forth upon where to go or what to do. Their Companions couldn't get a word in. Neither could the Seventh Doctor. He leaned on the TARDIS console with his hand cradling his jaw as the other four Doctors seemed to ignore him completely.

Romana walked over to the Doctor leaning on the console.

At least she wanted to talk to him. "Are they always like this when they get together?"

"Yes," the Doctor said. "It's rather like putting up with a bunch of kindergartners."

"Can't they agree on anything?" Sarah asked.

"Not really," the Doctor replied. "This is what happens when you meet your past: You're always trying to correct it."

"I tell you, you're out of your mind, man!" The Third Doctor said to the Sixth. "The Daleks can't possibly have a device like that. "

"Why not?" countered the Sixth Doctor. "Last time I heard, they were experimenting with temporal distortion."

"You're getting them confused with the Cybermen," the Fourth Doctor chided.

"Well," the Fifth Doctor accused. "I don't hear you coming up with any brilliant ideas on what to do!"

"Hmmm? Telos! That's what I say: Go to Telos and find out what the Cybermen are up to!" Moans came from the other three Doctors and their argument once again became muddled cacophonous nonsense .

The Doctor, tired of all this pointless bickering, decided to end it right here. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a referee's whistle. He put it to his lips and blew as hard as he could. The loud tweeting noise made every one stop and be silent.

Satisfied with regaining his control, the Doctor began to speak. "Has it ever occurred to you—any of you—that the one place we can go to find out what's going is Gallifrey? "

"Gallifrey?" The Third Doctor asked. "Why there?"

"Well, because they can probably trace the paths of my... of _our_ first two selves. Or didn't you notice that they weren't here?"

The four Doctors looked around them. They had to admit it: The little chap was right. "Now that you mention it," the Sixth Doctor said. "I kind of did notice that that little scarecrow wasn't around."

"Yes. Or 'Grandfather,' either," the Fifth Doctor added.

"Then we're agreed?" the Doctor stated. "Gallifrey it is?"

The other Doctors nodded.

The Doctor then moved to the console and set the coordinates for Gallifrey. Then, with a flick of the wrist, the console central column begun rising and filling. They were off.

Tegan turned to Nyssa and the other girls and said, "Oh well. Here we go again!"


	4. Chapter 4

Gallifrey.

Many eons ago, this planet's race had achieved the ultimate goal: space-time travel. With this discovery, they were able to better their world by learning from the mistakes of other races. Certain events had led the race of Gallifrey, who now called themselves Time Lords, to a policy of non/intervention in the affairs of other races. A policy which the Doctor had completely ignored.

In the capitol city all seemed well; except inside the inner chambers of the High Council of Time Lords. There an attendant watched the workings of time and space. Normal procedure, with the exception of what he saw. He could not make heads or tails of what it was. It seemed impossible; and yet it was there.

A moment later, Lady President Flavia entered the room. A new regeneration had made her slender and youthful, and her red hair fell to her shoulders and ended in curls. The young attendant snapped to attention to honor the Lady President, but she merely waved him down.

"Please," she said warmly. "No need for formalities. Tell me more of the strange occurrences." She was a good president and her people loved her. Her subtle charm and wit had been a great help since she became President of the Council through a rather strange turn of events; mainly the Doctor's doing.

"I can't understand this, my lady," the attendant began. "Somehow, there is a class theta space disturbance forming near Gallifrey."

"A black hole, you mean?"

"Yes, my lady. And it's getting bigger all the time. I think it could disrupt everything if it gets big enough."

"I see. And what are we to do about it?"

"I don't know, my lady. But there's something else."

"Go on, please."

"Well, I was checking on the existences of some of our research travelers and discovered a certain Time Lord's first two incarnations no longer exist!"

"You mean he's been taken out of time?"

"Not exactly, my lady. This Time Lord's first two selves simply no longer exist in any time or any place."

"Where do his time paths lead?"

"That's the really odd part, my lady. They seem to come to Gallifrey, but then they..."

"Then they what? Go on."

"Then they disappear into that Black Hole."

There was a long silence. What did this mean? How could someone's past lives disappear into nothingness? And worse, could it be affecting that thing out there?

"I'm almost afraid to ask who this Time Lord is," Lady President Flavia stated.

"He is the one known as 'The Doctor.'"

"I was afraid you'd say that."

Ever since his trial, the Doctor had been more trouble than he was worth. The forced regeneration had not helped matters, either. He still liked freely floating around the galaxy in that antiquated space ship of his. Even though he had made her president when he hastily ran away from his own appointment to that office, he was still a general nuisance.

Suddenly, an alarm went off on the observation console.

The attendant checked the controls and screens and discovered the cause of the alarm. "What is it?" Lady President Flavia asked.

"It's a TARDIS above the left anti-barrion shield. It's requesting clearance to enter and land." He then mumbled to himself, "Heh, if it can."

"I beg your pardon?"

"This TARDIS is an old Type 40. They've been decommissioned for years."

"Do you know the only Time Lord who has a Type 40?"

He did not.

"It's the Doctor. I figured he'd come sooner or later. Very well. Give him clearance to land, and have him report to the Council Chamber."

"Yes, my lady."

Flavia turned and her long orange and red gown fluttered in the movement as she headed out to the main Council meeting chamber and awaited the Doctor's arrival.

The arrival point was very close to the Council chambers; so, the Doctors only had a short walk. When the TARDIS had completed materialization, the Doctor and Melanie stepped out. They were followed closely by the Third Doctor and Sarah; Nyssa, Tegan, and the Fifth Doctor; the Fourth Doctor and Romana; and finally, the Sixth Doctor. They began to walk down the hallway which led out of the arrival point when they met the attendant.

"Doctor," the young man began. Noticing that there was more than one man with that name, he quickly corrected himself, " _Doctors_. You are welcome."

"Thank you, uh…" the Doctor hesitated.

"Attendant Mythraff, sir. Lady President Flavia is expecting you. This way." Mythraff gestured ahead of him down the corridor before he began walking down it toward the Council's meeting chamber.

"Now, when we get there," the Doctor said to his other selves. "I shall do all the talking."

"Wait a minute," the Sixth Doctor said, halting everyone in their tracks. "Why you, hmm?"

"Because I am in the present and all of you are in the past!" snapped the Doctor before moving down the corridor ahead of them.

As the others began to slowly follow, the Third Doctor turned to Sarah. "I've got to admit, the little fellow has a point there."

"Yes," Sarah replied, even though she didn't really understand what either remark meant.

The Doctor and Melanie entered the meeting chamber first and found the Lady President Flavia sitting along in her presidential chair. She rose and approached them. "Welcome, Doctor. I am sorry to inconvenience you like this."

The Doctor was about to reply when the Sixth Doctor abruptly entered the room. "'Inconvenience' is hardly the word I'd use, Madam President!"

"Oh dear," the Doctor moaned. "Here we go again!"

"Doctor," Flavia began. "How many more of your selves have you brought?"

The Doctor closed his eyes, fearing her reaction. "All of them."

Flavia's eyes went wide. " _All_ of them?!"

"Yes," the Third Doctor replied as he entered. " _All_ of them."

"Except the first two," the Fifth Doctor added as he entered.

"Yes. And we have a feeling that _you_ know where the are," accused the Fourth Doctor.

"Would you four mind holding your tongues until _I_ can at least _talk_ to the Lady President?!" the Doctor pleaded. The other four selves seemed to agree, albeit begrudgingly. "Now then. Have you any idea of what is happening to me?" The Doctor noticed his other selves staring at him angrily. "Us?" he corrected.

"Come with me, Doctors," Flavia replied. She led the Doctors into an adjoining room. On one wall was a large viewscreen filled with the image of the black hole that had formed over Gallifrey.

"That's it, Doctors," Flavia said, indicating the image on the screen. "It's beginning to disrupt all of Gallifrey. If it continues to expand…"

"Expand?!" blurted the Sixth Doctor. The Doctor shot him an evil glance that settled him after a moment.

"As I said," Flavia continued. "If it continues to expand at its present rate, Gallifrey will be thrown into complete chaos. All would be disrupted and Time Lord society will completely collapse."

"How horrible," commented Sarah Jane.

"Yes," the Fifth Doctor interjected. "But what does this have to with my… with _our_ first two selves?"

"Their time trails lead directly into the hole. We cannot scan to the other side," said Mythraff.

"Well," the Doctor said. "The solution seems obvious to me. We must go to the other end of the phenomenon and find out what's behind all this."

"Absolutely out of the question!" replied Flavia. "We've tried to transmat objects to the other side of the phenomenon, and we haven't been able to recover them."

"Then let just one of us go. We're bound together, and tracing each other telepathically would be no problem."

"And suppose whatever happened to your first two selves happens to one of you?"

"That's a chance we have to take."

"At any rate, if one of them fails, there will still be four others left," said Romana.

"You have to let one of us go, Madame President," said the Fifth Doctor.

"It's the only chance we've got," the Doctor added.

Flavia was silent a moment as she weighed her options. Finally, she said, "Alright. Who will it be?"

"It will be me, Madame President," the Third Doctor replied.

"You?" the Sixth Doctor asked incredulously. "Why?"

"It seems logical to me that, to keep us stronger, we go in in our order of regeneration."

"That seems reasonable to me," said the Fourth Doctor.

"I'm going with you," Sarah Jane offered.

"You?" queried Flavia. "You're a human. What interest have you in Gallifrey?"

"Whatever the Doctor's interest, it's mine too," said Sarah Jane resolutely.

The Third Doctor turned to Sarah Jane with pleading eyes. "Sarah, it could be very dangerous on the other side."

"We've been through worse: Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans. And we did it together. Remember?"

"Alright, Sarah."

Flavia raised her arm to display a bracelet she wore on her left wrist. She touched a button on it, and on the opposite end of the room, a wall suddenly disappeared. In its place stood a platform and an elevated panel with a series of control switches. This was Gallifrey's emergency matter transfer terminus. As the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane stepped toward it, they noticed that its coordinates were already set for the center of the black hole.

The Third Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith stepped onto the transmat pad, and Mythraff began to operate the controls. In a blink of an eye, they were gone.

The remaining Doctors entered a trance-like state as their minds linked with their departed self.


	5. Chapter 5

The Third Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith materialized in the murky, swamp world in which their quarry laid. Sarah had never gotten used to the transmat effect and believed she never would. She then noticed the Doctor. He had his hand up to his temple, as if her were massaging a migraine.

“Something wrong?” she asked him.

“My mind-link with the others,” he replied. “It isn’t as clear as I thought it would be.” He gently massaged his temple again, as if he was trying to dial in a particular frequency on a radio. But, for some reason, it seemed that he couldn’t get a clear signal no matter how hard he tried.

After a moment of this, he mused, “Oh well. Let’s see what we can find.”

The Third Doctor and Sarah began exploring their swampy surroundings. They could find nothing except for tangled vines, mists, and darkness. So much darkness that not even the tiniest slivers of light could break through. Did this world have a sun? Was this universe they were in completely devoid of stars?

“Doctor,” Sarah nervously said after a moment. “What is this place?”

“I don’t know. There’s some sort of pervading evil about it.”

“Evil? What kind of evil?”

“I’m not sure yet. However, all of this is vaguely familiar…”

* * *

Inside the Master’s TARDIS, the Master and Omega watched the Third Doctor’s progress with glee. “You see, Omega?” the Master said triumphantly. “It was only a matter of time before his other selves arrived.”

“Now what do you plan to do?” Omega boomed.

“Watch.”

The Master pushed a series of buttons on the machine that held the Doctor’s previous selves; then stepped back and observed the screen.

* * *

The Third Doctor paused mid-stride. Sarah nearly ran into him. “What’s the matter, Doctor?” she wondered.

“I heard something. I thought it was a twig snap.”

The pair then heard a muffled cry for help. The Doctor immediately sprang into action, leaping in the direction he thought he’d heard the cry come from. Sarah hurriedly tried to keep pace with the Doctor.

She came to a stop when she saw standing in the middle of a clearing. There, hanging by a rope from a tree snare was… No! How could it be?

Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart!

“Good heavens, man!” the Doctor exclaimed. “How did you get up there?”

“You always have a penchant for asking the most inane questions, Doctor!” the Brigadier snapped back. “Get me down!”

“Hang on, old fellow,” the Doctor said. The Brigadier rolled his eyes as the Doctor pulled a metal rod out of his coat pocket and pointed it toward the Brigadier. The Doctor applied the slightest pressure to the rod, and a blue laser shot out its end. The laser quickly burned through the rope, and within seconds, the Brigadier fell to the ground.

Sarah cringed momentarily as the Brigadier’s body hit pay dirt. That had to have hurt! Fortunately, being the tough old solider he was, the Brigadier quickly rose to his feet and, in typical British fashion, he brushed the dust off his uniform, recovering a modicum of his dignity.

“Thank you, Doctor,” said the Brigadier stiffly.

Sarah Jane Smith couldn’t believe she was standing next to her old U.N.I.T. comrade. For a moment, she wasn’t sure what to say to him. Fortunately, the Doctor was able to perfectly articulate the question that was on her mind.

“Tell me,” the Doctor began. “What are you doing here?”

“Same as you, I gather,” said the Brigadier. “Looking for whoever is responsible for the black hole above Gallifrey.”

“Jolly good! Let’s go on then, shall we?”

The Brigadier led the Third Doctor and Sarah through another part of the swamp. Within moments, the Brigadier pulled ahead of the Doctor and Sarah. That’s when she stopped dead in her tracks. The Doctor turned back to his longtime companion.

“Come on, Sarah,” he said.

Sarah Jane did not move. The Doctor stepped back toward her, asking what was wrong.

“The Brigadier worries me,” she said.

“How so?”

“Well, how did he know about the black hole above Gallifrey? There’s something about him I just don’t trust.”

“Oh, nonsense!” The Doctor took a couple steps forward. They were standing before a fork in the path way ahead of them. The Brigadier was nowhere to be seen.

“Wonderful!” the Doctor huffed. “Probably gone and gotten himself lost!”

“Well, which way do we go?” asked Sarah.

The Doctor pondered the situation a moment. “Right. It’s always been my lucky direction.”

As they began to move, the Doctor heard the Brigadier’s voice calling out to him. The Brigadier then appeared out of the darkness on the left fork in the path.

“Oh, there you are, old boy,” said the Doctor with relief. “Come on, Sarah.”

Sarah Jane Smith froze in her spot. She cried out to the Doctor, pointing ahead to the right fork. There stood a second Brigadier, his eyes alight with a red glow and his arms outstretched. The pair quickly glanced left and saw that the left Brigadier mimicked the right Brigadier. The Brigadiers slowly advanced on the Doctor and Sarah Jane.

“Run, Sarah!” the Doctor hollered.

Sarah Jane Smith ran as fast as her legs could carry her with the Doctor closely nipping at her heels. A bolt of light burst forth from the left Brigadier’s arm. It formed a glowing energy bubble around the journalist’s body, imprisoning her.

The Doctor, who had run past her, quickly turned to see the energy bubble envelop her. He called out to her and began to sprint to her aid. As he did, the right Brigadier repeated his counterpart’s actions. As the energy beam enveloped the Doctor, his body began to slowly evaporate. Sarah Jane watched helplessly as the Doctor’s body lost its corporeal form and ultimately disappeared into nothingness.

She heard the two Brigadiers laughing maniacally before they too faded from existence, back to nothingness from which they spawned.

* * *

Back in the Council room on Gallifrey, the four remaining Doctors trance-like state broke and they snapped back to reality simultaneously.

“It was a shorter interval that time,” the Fourth Doctor commented.

The Doctor nodded. “But I felt certain we were close to an answer that time. We must try again.”

“Well, I suppose that means I’m next,” said the Fourth Doctor.

Lady President Flavia stepped in, interrupting the Fourth Doctor’s action. “I cannot let you continue this any further. You’re getting weaker. I can see it in you, as well as in your other selves.”

“We have no choice, Madame President,” the Doctor stated. “Unless we know what’s behind that phenomenon, we won’t know how to combat it!”

Lady President Flavia was about to argue her case when she and the others heard the sound of the transmat device activate. Flavia quickly glanced around the room. Everyone was still there with the notable exception of the Fourth Doctor and Romana.

* * *

The Fourth Doctor and Romana materialized in another portion of the swamp world on the other side of the black hole. The pair momentarily surveyed their surroundings. “Not the most inviting place,” Romana commented. “Wherever we are.”

“It’s even worse than Delta Magna,” the Doctor affirmed. “My guess is that we’re in some other dimension.”

Romana stared at the Doctor uncertainly. Though her intelligence was more than equal to his own, there were moments where even she had a hard time comprehending what he said. This was one of those times. “Other dimension?” she mused.

“Yes. Slightly parallel to our own but… different in many respects,” said the Doctor. He began walking and indicated for Romana to follow him. As the pair trekked through the swampy forest, Romana commented on how familiar all this was to her. Like some place she had heard about in childhood.

“You feel it, too?” the Doctor said with some surprise. He then mused, “A race memory, perhaps? Let’s find out.”

The Fourth Doctor continued to lead the way through the swampy forest. As they trekked deeper and deeper into it, Roman began to hear a tinny, mechanical voice calling her. It was faint at first, and Romana dismissed it as perhaps the wind rustling through the trees. But it grew louder. Clearer. It was definitely saying a recognizable word.

The word was… “Mistress.”

Romana tried to alert the Doctor, but it was no use. He was too wrapped up in his searching to pay it any mind.

Romana broke off from the Doctor and followed the source of the voice, which grew clearer and clearer and stepped further and further from the Doctor. Within moments, she too came upon a clearing in the forest where she found the source of the voice: A small metallic computer built to resemble a dog.

“K-9!” Romana said, overjoyed.

The machine wagged its “tail” in response to finding its long lost mistress.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Fourth Doctor busily trekked on through the dense swampland. As he did, he mumbled to himself, trying to think why the area seemed so familiar to him. He walked and mumbled, uncertain what to think. Finally, he stopped.

“Oh, it’s useless!” he grunted. “I just can’t place it anywhere. Are you having any luck, Romana?”

He turned, expecting to see his diminutive female companion behind him. But, she wasn’t there. The Doctor called out to her. He whirled around several times trying in vain to spy her. But it was no use. She wasn’t there.

Then, out of the darkness, the Doctor heard a soft and alluring feminine voice call out to him. The Doctor whirled around, searching for the source of the voice which grew louder and… more familiar. _No!_ he thought. _It couldn’t be!_

Instinctively, he pushed his way through the thick swamp growth. As he brushed away a tangle of vines in front of him, he found the source of the voice. The Doctor gasped, “I don’t believe it!”

* * *

“K-9, what in the universe are you doing _here_?” Romana asked the little dog-like computer.

“I have been ordered to seek you out, Mistress.”

“Me?” she wondered. “By whom? The Time Lords?”

“No,” K-9 replied simply.

“Well, who then?”

“My Master.”

“Your Master? You…”

Romana quickly rose from where she squatted by K-9 and began slowly backing away. “Your master is… the Doctor.”

“Negative,” the computer replied. “Mine is the _real_ Master.”

Romana backed away is shock as K-9’s built-in gun slowly snaked out from its “nose.” K-9 began slowly advancing on the woman he once called “Mistress.” Romana backed into a tree, realizing that she nowhere else to go. She closed her eyes in fear as K-9 fired on her!

* * *

“Romana! What the devil happened to you?” asked the Fourth Doctor as he approached the source of the voice he’d heard. It was Romana as she had once been before her regeneration. A tall, slender brunette in a flowing white gown.

“Happened?” Romana smiled. “Why nothing, Doctor. I’m here. And so are you.”

“Yes, but just a couple moments ago you were… uh…” He motioned with his hands.

“Short and blonde?”

“Yes. Princess Astra. You liked her body so much that you copied it.”

“That whiny, spoiled child from Atrios? Oh come now, Doctor. Surely I would have had better taste than that!”

“Yes. Well never mind about that now. We have to find out who’s behind all this.”

“There’s no need for that, Doctor,” said Romana with conviction. “I already do.”

The Doctor whirled about to look her in the eyes. “You do?”

“Yes. He’s expecting you.”

“He?”

“They,” she corrected herself with a snicker.

The Fourth Doctor slowly began backing away from his one-time companion. Her snicker had turned into a maniacal laugh. “Romana, what’s gotten into you?”

Suddenly, she whipped out a familiar metal rod which ended in a square handle with a series of buttons on it. It was the tracer they had once used to find the Key to Time. “What are you doing with that?” the Doctor demanded.

“Stay where you are!” commanded Romana menacingly.

The Doctor stopped dead in his tracks. “This won’t hurt a bit!”

She pushed a button on the tracer, and a blue laser shot from it. It enveloped the Fourth Doctor. His body slowly began to dematerialize. Romana’s laughter grew louder as the Doctor’s body faded away until she stood alone in the swampy forest. She continued laughing as she too faded to nothingness.

* * *

Inside the Master’s TARDIS, another globe in the machine filled with the Fourth Doctor’s face, contorted in agony. “You see, Omega?” said the Master with obvious delight. “Four down. Three to go!”

“It has been remarkable, so far,” Omega boomed. “But, surely the Doctor has been getting clues as to what’s happening.”

“I’m _giving_ him the clues. Don’t you see? That only heightens his curiosity! He’s always been obsessed with puzzles.”

“So you say. But is he obsessed enough to sacrifice his remaining lives for one?”

“I’ve seen him do it on less.”

Another image swirled into focus on the screen on the machine. The Master turned to Omega, insisting on quiet. “Here comes another one!” he purred.

* * *

The time, the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, and Tegan materialized in the swampland environs visited by the previous Doctors. As his body solidified, the Fifth Doctor staggered a little on his feet. Nyssa and Tegan rushed to his aid, but he seemed to recover quickly.

Nevertheless, Tegan held onto the Doctor. “This won’t do!” she said with worry. “You’re getting weaker all the time!”

“All of you,” added Nyssa.

The Doctor nodded. “But I think we’re getting closer to the answer as well.”

The Doctor took an awkward step forward. He seemed unsure of his footing. He pointed to a branch that had fallen off a nearby tree. “Get me that branch over there. Would you, Nyssa?”

Nyssa stepped over to the branch and stooped down. She grasped it in her hand, raised it from the ground, and brought it over to the Doctor. The Doctor held the top of the branch and planted the bottom of it on the ground. It was just long and sturdy enough to be used as a walking stick.

“Haven’t had to use one of these for a long time,” the Doctor commented with a slight smile. Once he felt that he could walk steadily with the makeshift cane, he turned to his companions and urged them on.

The Doctor led his two young companions through the dense swampland. Tegan and Nyssa both had visions of a place out of their childhood nightmares as they walked. Nyssa had once dreamed of her death in a place like this, while Tegan shuddered as she recalled a dream in which a bloody crocodile had eaten her. Perhaps it still could be. With the Doctor, anything was possible.

“Didn’t your other self say this place was familiar to him too?” Tegan asked in her Australian drawl.

“Yes. And I think I know where it is. Or, at least, what it could be.” The Doctor was silent a moment.

Nyssa hated when he did that. “Well?” she pressed.

“In a way… I suppose it’s Hell.”

“Hell?” said a shocked Tegan.

“Yes. But not in any sort of spiritual sense. It was once believed that Rassilon created a world parallel to our own. But if someone was ever sent there, he would never return!”

“Why?” queried Nyssa. Again with the prompting!

“Because his body would be transformed into… anti-matter!”

Realization dawned on Tegan. “Does that mean we’re now…?”

The Doctor reassured her that this wasn’t the case. “Only the Eye of Harmony could do that. We’re safe. I think.”

Ever the scientist, Nyssa asked, “How? If this is anti-matter, and we’re still matter, why hasn’t there been a colossal explosion?”

The Doctor tutted. “You know… noone’s ever been able to figure that out.”

Tegan interjected, “Doctor, if this is an anti-matter world, do you suppose it could be…?”

The Doctor’s eyes widened. “No! Impossible! We destroyed him!”

* * *

“Hardly, Doctor,” chuckled Omega as he watched the image on the machine’s screen.

The Master’s lip curled into an amused grimace. “This should be one of the more amusing ones to watch.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“They’ve had a companion die recently. A fairly young one. Observe.”

* * *

“Tegan, I need to rest,” the Fifth Doctor rasped.

Tegan led him over to a boulder stuck in the ground that was large enough to serve as a seat for the weary Time Lord. He gingerly lowered himself to the hard surface. He looked at Tegan and Nyssa reassuringly. “I’ll only need a moment.”

Nyssa volunteered to check the path ahead. After the Doctor agreed, she stepped away from her companions. After a moment or two of exploration, she came to what appeared to be another clearing in the marsh. This time, however, instead of merely being an open area, a tall building stood in the middle of the field. It appeared to be a kind of tower that reached to the sky. It was so tall that it was impossible to see the top because of the clouds that shrouded it.

Nyssa excitedly called to her companions, “I’ve found something!”

When she turned back to face the tower again, she saw a figure standing before what appeared to be a door at the base of the tower. Nyssa strained her eyes to see what it was. The figure was unmistakably human… and familiar!

“Adric?” Nyssa blinked disbelievingly. But it was him. He silently beckoned her to join him. Overcome with joy, Nyssa rushed into his waiting arms.

“This is impossible,” she sputtered as tears streamed down her face. “How can you be here?”

“Here anything is impossible, Nyssa,” Adric replied simply.

“It’s been lonely on the TARDIS without you,” she cried.

“I know. But here, I am at peace with myself and the Master…”

“Adric, I…”

“Nyssa!” he interrupted. “Don’t say a word. Not until I tell you of my discovery.”

Nyssa stared at him quizzically. “Discovery?”

“About this place.”

“What about it?”

“The Doctor was right,” Adric said, his voice deepening to a growl. “This place _is_ Hell!”

Adric’s face contorted, turning purple, and his smile widened as two fangs dripping with saliva sprang from us upper mandible. Nyssa screamed as she backed away from the horrific monster. As she turned to flee, fire erupted from the Adric-creature’s mouth. The flames completely engulfed Nyssa’s entrapped body.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Fifth Doctor and Tegan had begun following the path Nyssa had blazed before them. They stopped dead in their tracks when they heard Nyssa’s agonized scream.

“What was that?” asked Tegan, petrified.

“It sounded like Nyssa,” the Doctor said simply.

“We’ve gotta help her!”

Tegan moved to her friend’s aid, but the Doctor restrained her. “No! It’s too late. Whoever’s in control of this game has her now.”

Tegan struggled to free herself, but ultimately saw the wisdom in the Doctor’s words. “The only way to save Nyssa and the others is to find whoever that is!” concluded the Doctor.

Even in his weakened state, the Doctor still commanded an air of authority that could not be denied. Tegan realized that they needed to keep moving; so they continued along the path, hoping it would lead them to the one in control.

Suddenly a familiar figure appeared on the path ahead of them. It called the Doctor, by name.

“Adric?” Tegan asked in shock.

The Doctor pleaded with Tegan, “No, Tegan! Adric is dead! We both know that!”

“Do you, Doctor?” snarled Adric menacingly.

“You are not real!” declared the Doctor. “You are insubstantial. And you do not frighten me!”

“Doctor, don’t taunt it,” warned Tegan.

“Oh, but I am real and substantial, Doctor,” said Adric even. “Just as your substance is vital to our cause.”

The Doctor stared at Adric with confusion. “‘Our cause?’”

Adric nodded. “The makers’ cause.”

“Who are these ‘makers’?” demanded the Doctor.

“You’ll know soon enough!”

And with those words, Adric’s face once again contorted into the purple-faced, fanged creature that had threatened Nyssa. Its fiery breath first hit Tegan, who was sent flying off the ground and ultimately crashed into the side of large tree trunk.

The Adric-monster then turned to the Doctor, who held up his walking stick in a futile gesture of defense. The monster breathed its fiery breath yet again. It hit the Doctor, and as it did, the Fifth Doctor—like all the others—began to shimmer and slowly fade out of existence, becoming yet another contorted image in one of the globes atop the Master’s machine.


	6. Chapter 6

The Council Room on Gallifrey was in a state of confusion.

Three Doctors had left, and now, five were missing; lost somewhere in the black hole which seemed to be growing larger with each disappearance. Lady President Flavia paced over to the remaining two Doctors, who were weighing their options. Both of them appeared to be very weak, both physically and mentally.

"Doctors," she began in her regal voice. "How can you continue this insanity?"

"Madame President," the Doctor replied. "Every time we go in there, we get closer to an answer!"

"And every time one of your selves disappears, you get weaker."

"We are being abducted!" the Sixth Doctor interjected. "Slowly and methodically, we are being abducted."

"Yes," said Melanie. "But for what?"

"Whoever is luring us," the Doctor began. "Knows us very well. Knows that we love piecing puzzles together."

"So, he lures us in there; each time, giving us another very small piece," the Sixth Doctor continued.

"Who would know us that well?"

The Sixth Doctor instantly read the expression on his future self's face. "No!" he exclaimed.

"Yes," concluded the Doctor. "The Master!"

"But, what would he hope to gain from in there?" the Sixth Doctor indicated the black hole.

"Remember: Adric said 'makers.' Plural. And we know that that is the Punishment Zone—created by the Eye of Harmony—out of anti-matter!"

Realization dawned on the Sixth Doctor's face. "Omega!"

"Look you two," Mel intervened. "I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about. Let me in on it, will you?!"

"Well," the Sixth Doctor confided. "You know the Master. Like him, Omega is another renegade Time Lord."

"Sent to the Punishment Zone after he tried to take over Gallifrey using the Arc of Infinity," Flavia countered.

The Doctor picked up the tale. "Somehow, the Master found a way to create a black hole which made passage into the Punishment Zone possible. From there, he hopes to bring Omega back."

"The only way to do so," the Sixth Doctor concluded. "Is to steal the essence of another Time Lord and transfer it to Omega. The question is, how? I thought the Time Scoop was destroyed."

"It was," the Doctor replied. "But the Xenoian race of Eccos have been experimenting with Time. They could have developed a Time Scoop of their own. And then sold it to the Master."

"Why would they sell it to him? He could have stolen it from them!"

"Perhaps," said the Doctor. "But the Xenoians are known for their greed. Perhaps it's a trait the Master thought they shared."

The Sixth Doctor nodded in agreement. "But would could the Master hope to gain by bringing Omega back?"

"Power," the Doctor affirmed. "He frees Omega; Omega gives him something in return."

The Sixth Doctor nodded again. "We have to go in there; find them, stop them, and set our other selves free."

"Doctors," Flavia intervened. "You're both too weak to let one of you go!"

Inspiration struck Melanie. "What if they _both_ went?"

Flavia shot her an incredulous glance. "Together?"

The Doctor glanced at his previous incarnation. "We would be stronger together."

"Double the tracking abilities…" the Sixth Doctor pondered.

"Let's do it! Hope springs a watch!"

"Eternal," Mel corrected, adding, "and I'm coming with you."

Already on the transmat pad, the two Doctors encouraged their feisty companion to join them.

"Come on then, Mel!" The Sixth Doctor then turned to his other self. "I see you've learned."

"Learned what?"

"Not to argue with her!"

* * *

The two Doctors and Melanie materialized in the same spot where the Fifth Doctor had been abducted. The Sixth Doctor glanced about himself, calling for Tegan and Nyssa.

"Don't bother," the Doctor warned. "They aren't here."

"Where, then?"

"When we find the Master and Omega, I imagine we'll find them."

"Doctors, look!" Mel shouted. She was pointing to a tower whose height reached beyond the grey clouds it rose toward.

"Yes," said the Sixth Doctor. "That's where the Time Lords imprisoned Omega."

"Then the Master's TARDIS shouldn't be too far off," the Doctor commented.

The trio moved along the dirt pathway, following the same route the Fifth Doctor and his companions would have taken. They slowly trekked along the path for approximately fifteen minutes when the Doctor suddenly needed to rest.

"All right," said the Sixth Doctor, who was feeling strangely rejuvenated. "Mel, stay with him. I'll see what I can find."

The Sixth Doctor moved off ahead of them, trudging along a path until he heard a sound. It sounded vaguely like a young girl laughing. Peering through some thick branches, the Sixth Doctor stared unbelievingly at the site he beheld. A lake that was even larger than the one on Rigel IV, but with an identical sheer cliff which plummeted into the water below.

What was even more surprising was the young dark-haired woman sitting on thee cliffside and… could she be? Fishing? "Peri!" the Sixth Doctor called out.

Perpigilliam Brown turned to smile widely at the sound of the Doctor's voice and called out his name in her usual friendly tone.

* * *

Back where the Doctor and Mel rested, the Doctor was slowly recovering. He looked around momentarily before turning back to Mel. "All right. Let's go."

He rose to his feet, and as he steadied himself, he glanced around him, seemingly in search of something that was lost. "Wait a minute. Where is he?"

"Who?" Mel asked.

"Me!"

"Oh! He went to scout ahead."

"What? Oh. Well, let's get going, then."

"What about him?"

"Oh, I'll make psychic contact with him and let him know where we're going."

* * *

"I don't understand. I thought you hated fishing!" beamed the Sixth Doctor.

"Just never had the chance to get into it," replied Peri in her sugary American accent. The voice had always held the Doctor spellbound, like a sweet melody.

"Catching anything?"

"A cold," Peri replied jokingly.

Suddenly, the Sixth Doctor felt a wince in his head and his right hand immediately shot up to his temple.

"What's wrong?" Peri asked.

"Telepathic message. They're moving."

"Who are?"

"Mel and myself."

"Oh, don't start the double-speak again. I get a terrible headache from it."

"I must follow them."

Peri quickly blocked his path. "No, Doctor. Stay a while. I need you."

"Need me? You didn't need me when Yrcanos…"

A memory suddenly flooded back into the Doctor's mind. A seemingly lost memory about the girl standing in his way.

"Yrcanos…" he repeated the name. "I left you with… Yrcanos." The Doctor slowly began backing away from the beautiful girl in the too-short shorts, that he now knew was not the real thing.

"You're so right, Doctor!" Peri's voice took on a considerable darker and more sinister tone as she trained her fishing rod on the Sixth Doctor. He turned to flee, but a beam shot toward him from the tip of the rod. It enveloped the Sixth Doctor's body and, like all his other selves, it sparkled and faded out of existence.

* * *

As he walked along the dirt-covered path, the Doctor winced with pain and almost collapsed to the ground. Mel rushed to his side and assisted the shorter Doctor back to his feet. He gasped for the thin air of the swamp. Between breaths, he managed to squeak out, "Oh, no. They've go him now! I'm the only one left!"

"Come on, then," encouraged Mel. "Let's find them!"

"You have to help me, Mel!"

"That's what I'm here for, Doctor."

Mel guided the Doctor as the paired trudged the dirt path ahead of them. In all the time she had known him, he had always been in control. Mel had her rebellious streak, but it was the Doctor who had always held the reins. Now, to see him so weak and vulnerable was highly disturbing. She cared for the funny little man a lot, and seeing him the way almost broke her heart.

For the Doctor, the feelings were quite different. Although weak in body and mind, his spirit held him together. As he and Mel walked along the path, he could see in his mind the pain-contorted images of his six other selves. He felt their pain as though it were his own, and could hear their voices crying out to him, begging for his help. He could also make out the voices of his beloved companions. They too cried out for his assistance. He had to help them all, but he wasn't sure how.

Mel's voice broke the Doctor's reverie as she pointed a conspicuous looking Corinthian column that seemed to appear in the swamp from nowhere. The Doctor didn't have to tell her. Mel knew it was the Master's TARDIS.

"Problem is…" she pointed out. "How do we get in?"

"If I know the Master," the Doctor replied faintly. "The door will probably be open, and he'll be waiting for us."

As usual, the Doctor was right. The door to the Master's TARDIS opened invitingly, and the Doctor and Mel stepped into the control room of the Master's TARDIS. Mel was astounded. With the exception of the black paneling, it was almost exactly like the Doctor's.

"Where is he?" Mel wondered.

"Follow the yellow line, if you dare," a voice thundered from all around them. It had to have been the ship's interior intercom system. The voice was unmistakable.

"The Master!" gasped Mel. At their feet, a glowing yellow line appeared. It pulsed in the direction away from the control room and into the main corridor of the vast ship.

"Come on," said the Doctor. Leading Mel as best he could, the Doctor followed the yellow line down several corridors which were vaguely familiar to the Doctor. "I know where we're going," he said flatly.

"How?"

"Our TARDISes are built to a similar design schematic. We're heading for the gallery room."

"The place where you were painting?"

"Yes. But Heaven only knows what the Master's got in there!"

The pair following the pulsing line for about two minutes until they arrived at the doors to the Master's gallery room. _The Doctor was right_ , Mel thought. _It_ _is_ _like his room_.

The Doctor shoved the doors to reveal the immense cathedral-like room behind them. Instead of the paintings in his TARDIS, the Doctor was greeted by two sinister figures and an awesome-looking machine which, among other things, had seven globes atop it.

"Welcome, Doctor," purred the Master.

The Doctor cautiously approached the Master and Omega, who stood beside him. As he moved, he spied the swirling, contorted images of his six other selves in the globes on top of the strange machine. "So, this is the infernal monstrosity you've used to bring me here."

"This," boomed Omega. "Is my salvation, Doctor. Once you have joined your other selves, my revenge will begin!"

"You've said that before, Omega. And you've failed!"

"Because you were there to stop me, Doctor! But now, there will be no more you. Your life essence will be transferred to me. To give me total being!"

"And for helping you, what does the Master get out of it?"

"A cosmos without you," countered the Master. "One without your constant interference to contend with!"

"Where are my companions?" demanded the Doctor.

"Safe," the Master replied evenly. "For the moment."

"Show them to me!"

"A last request?" the Master chuckled. "Very well. You're entitled to that."

The Master pulled a tiny box-like device from his cloak. He pressed one of the buttons on top of the device and almost instantly, one of the room panels in the vast gallery faded to reveal a cell protected by some sort of force field. Sarah, Romana, Nyssa, and Tegan were all on the opposite side of the force field. While their voices were silenced by the field, their expressions pleaded with the Doctor for help.

The Doctor was appalled.

"And soon, the delightful Ms. Bush will join them," the Master beamed.

"Enough of this!" boomed Omega. "Join him to his other selves!"

The Master nodded in assent as a small panel on the machine slid aside to reveal another button. The Master pressed it, and nozzle not unlike that of a Dalek gun snaked out from the top of the machine. The nozzle aimed itself at the Doctor and fired! The intense blue light enveloped the Doctor, causing him to grunt and cringe in pain. The ray was overpowering him. He grew weaker and weaker until he finally fell to his knees.

He could feel his body beginning to dematerialize, as if it caught in some sort of transmat beam. The Master and Omega gloated at their accomplishment. Soon the Doctor would be no more!

But then, in the far off reaches of his subconscious, the Doctor heard the voice of… could it be? His first self? "Concentrate," the voice said. "We must be one!"

The Doctor tried, but just couldn't muster the strength to do it. He then heard the encouraging words of his third self. "You can do it! Help us break the Master's hold!"

With all the mental might he could muster, the Doctor concentrated. He thought of the ray retreating away from his body and leaving him alone. Soon, he could feel the minds of his other selves helping, joining him in the crusade. He felt their unit. They were one.

Then, the dematerializing effect, which had overtaken nearly half of the Doctor's body, began to slowly recede. Inch by inch it fell away, slowly revealing the Doctor's checked trousers and brown loafers. Finally, it was gone. And now the Doctor had the beam itself to contend with. With the dematerializing effect gone and his mind now one with his other selves, the Doctor's strength returned. Slowly he rose to his feet.

The beam still surrounded his body, but the Doctor gave a mighty mental push. The beam fed back onto itself, retreating back into the machine. The Master and Omega's shouts of protest were not without merit. For within seconds, the machine exploded! Fiery fragments flew from the flower of flame that signaled the machine's end. The force of the explosion knocked the Doctor and others in the room momentarily senseless.

When the smoke had cleared, the force field had fallen. Mel rushed over to assist the still dazed and confused companions of the Doctor. The Doctor himself laid face down on the floor, his body covered in dust and machine fragments. Slowly, he regained consciousness. "Come on. No time to be lazing about here, old boy!" said a mercurial voice.

The Doctor raised his head and smiled. The voice belonged to his Fourth self. He and the three other Doctors he had met were standing above him, smiling themselves. They then helped the diminutive Time Lord to his feet. "You're back!" exclaimed the Doctor.

"Yes," said the Fifth Doctor. "All in one piece!"

"Our combined strength must've shattered the machine and released our essences," the Sixth Doctor commented.

The Doctor smiled, but then looked around him disconcertedly. "Where are the other two?"

The other Doctors then noticed that their first two selves were not present.

"Oh, probably sent back to their own times," the Third Doctor suggested.

"Safe and sound?" queried the Doctor. His Third self nodded.

"Which is more than we can say for them," the Fourth Doctor pointed.

All the Doctors and their companions turned to see Omega's body lying facing down in a pile of rubble. From what they could tell, he was dead. The Master, on the other hand, sadly surveyed the wreckage of his machine. The Master's face frowned, which appeared quite comedic to the other Doctors.

"Poor old thing," the Fourth Doctor chided. "I hope you've learned your lesson from this!"

The Doctor heard Sarah Jane Smith cry out, "Doctor! Look!"

It was Omega. His body began to glow with a bright blue hue. Suddenly, his arms twitched, and he hoisted himself up, clearing rubble and debris off of his robes. He raised his arms to the sky and began laughing triumphantly.

"I am whole!" Omega shouted. "I am alive again!"

The Master, who had been wallowing in self-pity, found joy in this sudden turn of events. He rushed toward the glowing figure of Omega calling out. Omega's name would be the only thing he would say as a fiery blue ray burst forth from Omega's fingers, knocking the Master against the far wall of the gallery room.

"Out of my way, oaf!" shouted Omega. "You have served your purpose. You were to give me being, but you have made me a GOD!"

"Doctor, what happened?" asked Tegan.

"When the machine exploded and released our energies," offered the Fifth Doctor, "some of it must have transferred to him."

Suddenly, on the ground in front of them came three powerful explosions; products of the fire from Omega's fingertips. "Quite a lot of energy, I'd say," the Sixth Doctor commented.

"Now," Omega declared. "You will all get down on your knees!"

The Doctors and their companions stood defiantly against Omega's demand.

"Kneel!" boomed Omega. "Kneel before the might of Omega!"

Another explosion erupted in front of them, as if Omega wanted to reinforce his point.

Slowly and begrudgingly, the Doctors and companions complied. They knelt in submission to the might of Omega. Omega gloated at his apparent victory. The Doctors, however, had other ideas. "Well, now what do we do?" asked the Sixth Doctor.

"I don't know," the Fifth Doctor said.

"Nothing," came the Doctor's quick answer.

"What?" queried the Fourth Doctor in disbelief.

"He's right," the Third Doctor said. "There's nothing we can do. Omega's beaten us."

"I've never known you to be defeatist," the Fifth Doctor commented.

"I've never had odds like this against me before."

"So, that's it, then?" the Sixth Doctor opined. "We're defeated?"

"Not necessarily," came the Doctor's inspired reply. Mel could see that he had that look in his eyes. He was about to something mad and drastic.

"I have had two… three opportunities to kill, Doctor," Omega declared. "Even if I do it five times over, it will not be enough!"

Suddenly, the Doctor rose defiantly. "Even if you kill all of us, you'll still have our first two selves to contend with!"

"Them?" Omega chuckled. "I will hunt them down and destroy them too!"

"You couldn't hunt down a pine tree in a maple grove!" taunted the Doctor evilly. The other four Doctors exchanged puzzled looks with each other. What was he doing?

"I am all powerful!" Omega bellowed.

"You're all hot air!" spat the Doctor. "Even if you manage to get out of this black hole, the Time Lords will destroy you!"

"Those gnats?" Omega guffawed. "I will sweep them aside! I will conquer Gallifrey, and then, the Universe!"

"You couldn't conquer a _pebble_ , let alone an entire planet!" the Doctor scoffed.

"You dare defy me?!" Omega snarled with rising anger. The glow around his body grew more intense.

"Have you met me? I defy any two-bit, 'all-powerful' megalomaniac with delusions of godhood. And let me tell you, I've seen better than you!"

With the Doctor's last remark, Omega screamed with fury. As he did, the glow surrounding his body became almost blinding, and blue lightning flashed from his raised fingertips to the ceiling.

Omega's next words came between exasperated gasps. "I… will sweep you aside! All of you…" He pointed menacingly at the Doctor and his companions. "…will know the full wrath… of Omega! I will…" That's when Omega noticed that something strange and unexpected was happening to his body. It appeared as if the dematerialization phenomenon that had previous affected the Doctors was now worming its way up his body from his feet.

"No!" Omega cried. "What… is… happening?"

The Doctor watched as the phenomenon snaked up past Omega's waist and creeped toward his chest. Had he been able to, he imagined he could have heard Omega's increasingly rapid dual heartbeat. As the phenomenon engulfed Omega's chest and arms, Omega continued to cry out. "This cannot happen to me!"

The phenomenon was now up to Omega's neck and was making its way to his masked head. "I. Am. OMEGA!"

Now the phenomenon completely engulfed his head. "I. Am. All. Powerful!" His words grew muffled as the phenomenon reached its apex. Slowly, Omega's body began to fade away.

"I will…" were the last of Omega's words that could be heard as his body finally disappeared. For a moment, an uneasy silence fell over the gallery. The Doctor cautiously stepped toward the spot where Omega had stood only a moment before.

After a moment, he turned on his heel to face his other selves and his companions. "Voila!" he said triumphantly with his arms wide.

The other Doctors and companions rushed toward the Doctor with their arms outstretched and expressions of elation on the faces.

"Well done, old fellow," exclaimed the Third Doctor.

"Fantastic!" said the Fourth Doctor.

"Smashing!" said the Fifth Doctor.

"I've never seen anything like it," affirmed the Sixth Doctor.

The energy was high among the group. Even the Master, who chose not to join their celebration, stood in admiration of the Doctor's accomplishment. When the initial excitement finally subsided a bit, Mel turned to the Doctor. "What was it you did?"

"Well," the Doctor began. "That machine fed off of psychic energy. The power of the mind. Specifically, the mind of a Time Lord. And with six times the power of a single mind, maintaining that kind of power would take a great amount of control on Omega's part."

Mel nodded. As did Nyssa and Romana. Sarah Jane and Tegan needed a bit more explanation, which the Doctor gladly provided.

"Well, Omega's always had one fatal drawback: a short fuse."

It finally clicked for Sarah Jane Smith. "So, you're saying that you…"

"Made him lose his temper!" said the rest of the group.

"His own power destroyed him," commented the Fifth Doctor.

"Indeed," interjected the Sixth Doctor. "It's like Lord Acton always said, 'Power corrupts…'"

The Doctor quickly interjected, "'And absolute power will completely ruin your day.'"

"'Corrupts absolutely,'" Mel corrected.

"Well, what I said was the first draft," said the Doctor. A short burst of laughter erupted from the assembled group. As it quickly died out, the Third Doctor raised a salient point.

"We still have one problem: How do we get back to Gallifrey?"

The Doctor smiled widely and casually strode over to where the Master stood. "Oh, I'm sure the Master will be more than happy to take us back."

The Doctor glared menacingly into the Master's eyes to make his point. " _Won't_ you?"


	7. Chapter 7

All was quiet in the council meeting chambers in the capitol city of Gallifrey. Inside the hexagonal chamber sat the tall, blue Police Box that had been the form of the Doctor's TARDIS for many years. Lady President Flavia, Mythraff, and handful of Gallifreyan sentries nervously paced, awaiting the Doctors' return. Or Omega's triumphant arrival.

Suddenly, a grinding, almost wheezing noise began to emanate from all around the room. Flavia signaled for the sentries to be at the ready and Mythraff shielded Flavia from what was coming. Gradually, a peculiar Greek Corinthian column materialized in the room. Flavia immediately recognized it as the Master's TARDIS. She indicated for the sentries to surround it and to train their weapons.

As the sentries moved into position, the TARDIS' door (if it could be called that) creaked open. For a moment, there was an unbearable tension in the room. It quickly faded as the Doctors and their companions emerged from the Master's TARDIS.

Applause erupted from the assembled Gallifreyans as the Third Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS first, with his arm lovingly draped over Sarah Jane Smith's shoulder. Then came the Fourth Doctor towering a few heads above his companion Romana. Next, the Fifth Doctor stepped forth, flanked on either side by Nyssa and Tegan. And finally, Mel approached flanked on either side by the Sixth and Seventh Doctors.

The applause died as Flavia and Mythraff stepped up to the Doctors. "Well?" she insisted.

"Omega is no more," the Doctor replied confidently. The applause erupted once again from the assembled throng.

After it subsided once more, the Third Doctor said to Flavia, "Madame President, you needn't worry about the black hole. It should be closing up as we speak."

"Yes, but…" This came from Mythraff. "How did you defeat Omega?"

"A few cruel words in the right place at the right time," beamed the Sixth Doctor.

Suddenly, the familiar grinding and wheezing sound of a TARDIS once again filled the room. The group whirled about in time to see the Master's TARDIS disappear for good.

"The Master!" cried Nyssa.

"Oh, let him go, Nyssa," said the Doctor. "He's learned his lesson."

"Yes. Let's just hope he remembers it when we again," commented the Fourth Doctor.

"Well," interjected the Fifth Doctor. "I think it's time for us to return to our own times."

The Sixth Doctor agreed. "Yes. We've been together quite long enough as it is!"

The Doctors and companions quickly exchanged goodbyes with Flavia and Mythraff before filing into the Doctor's TARDIS. As the Doctor himself was about to enter, Flavia called to him. He turned to face her.

"Twice before you were offered the seat of President of the High Council," she declared. "What say you now?"

The Doctor simply smiled at her. And, with that mischievous twinkle in his eye, said, "You have full deputy powers until I return!"

Flavia smiled and nodded knowingly as the Doctor stepped into the TARDIS and closed the door. Soon, like the Master's before it, the Doctor's TARDIS disappeared; once again heading out into the vastness of the universe.

* * *

Ultimately, the TARDIS materialized at the point in time and space where all the Doctors had first met. Inside the TARDIS control room, the Doctors set the controls of the machine to hover in space. It was the first time the Doctor could remember there being more than one person on board who could operate the machine. And he was grateful for their assistance, even if he hesitated to admit it.

Meanwhile, Mel conferred with her fellow sidekicks. "It'll be goodbye soon," she sighed.

"Yes. And we hardly ever get the change to know one another," said Romana mournfully.

"I wish there was something we could do," Nyssa moped.

"Maybe there is!" said Sarah Jane with a twinkle in her eye. The others turned to her for answer. "Why don't we ask the Doctors if we could get together again at some relaxing spot and have a picnic or something?"

"Yeah! Why not?" Tegan remarked. "Someplace peaceful. Like the Eye or Orion!"

"Well, the Doctor does seem to encounter himself," remarked Romana. "Rather a lot, actually."

"Let's do it!" said Mel with vigor. She called for the Doctor.

"Yes?" responded all five. They turned to each other with no small amount of consternation before Mel's Doctor stepped over to her. "What is it, Mel?"

"We were wondering—since we had so little time together…"

"When we weren't in mortal danger, that is," added Sarah Jane.

"…If we could all possibly get together and have a picnic?" Mel concluded.

The Doctor looked to his other selves, each of whom's expression seemed disapproving of the idea. "Well, I don't know…" the Doctor pondered. "We really all shouldn't be together anyway, you know."

Tegan nodded. Mel's heart momentarily sank. But then, with that wry twinkle in his eye, the Doctor added, "But who knows? Maybe… someday soon… we'll all happen to pass by the Eye of Orion at the exact same time."

The Doctor winked slyly at his other selves, who each returned a knowing a grin his way. After a moment, the Third Doctor spoke up. "But for now, it's time to go. Come on, Sarah."

Sarah Jane Smith turned to her fellow companions and bid them each a heartfelt farewell before hurrying over to the Third Doctor's side. He was enthusiastically shaking the hand of his current self. "Well, old boy," he said. "I must say it was an exhilarating experience!"

"Let's just try not to do it too often," Sarah remarked. The Doctor bid his Third self adieu and watched as he and Sarah walked out of the console room and disappeared down the main corridor of the TARDIS.

"Come along, Romana," said the Fourth Doctor impatiently. She skipped over to his side and regarded his newest incarnation.

"Well, I've always hated long goodbyes," the Fourth Doctor said. "Goodbye and good luck!" He firmly clasped the Seventh Doctor's hand and vigorously shook it for a moment before turning on his heel and stepping toward the main corridor.

Romana warmly embraced the Doctor as her farewell. After a moment, she broke the embrace and smiled warmly at the Doctor before turning back to the version she was more familiar with. As the pair strode with purpose out into the main corridor, the Fourth Doctor could be heard remarking, "Romana. I didn't know you cared…"

Now it was the Fifth Doctor's turn. He, Nyssa, and Tegan approached the man who had taken up the mantle of the Doctor. The Fifth Doctor offered his hand to his current incarnation. "Goodbye," he said simply.

"Regeneration is a lottery, is it?" said the Seventh Doctor with slight consternation, recalling his predecessor's earlier assessment of his appearance.

"Ah. Yes…" stammered the Fifth Doctor. Nyssa and Tegan shared a chuckle at their Doctor's expense.

"…But," the Fifth Doctor finally said. "In this case, I'd say the winning number came up!"

The two Doctors exchanged a smile before the Fifth Doctor led Nyssa and Tegan out into the main corridor.

Finally, the Sixth Doctor approached his successor. He examined the shorter man quizzically for a moment before saying, "You know, at first, I had my doubts about you…"

But within moments, the Sixth Doctor's expression softened and an appreciable smile wormed its way across his face. "But then I remembered," he concluded. "Seven is my lucky number!"

"Mine too," replied the Seventh Doctor, as the two men grasped each other's hands and shook vigorously. A moment later, the Sixth Doctor released his grip, turned on his heel, and gave Mel a hearty wave as he strode into the main corridor.

Mel stepped over to the Doctor's side, and he draped his arm around her shoulders as the last Doctor disappeared.

Somewhere in space, a tall, blue Police Box suddenly hummed and grinded to life. Four separate TARDISes—each one similar to the primary one, but slightly different in its own way—emerged. For a moment, the four other machines orbited the machine that seemed to be their progenitor before disappearing into the past.

To adventures experienced and remembered.

* * *

**Epilogue**

The Doctor decided to keep his TARDIS stationary in the space where it had materialized so that he could run a few diagnostic checks. He leaned over the control console, observing one of the monitor screens. Mel—who had been out in the main corridor—entered the control room and stepped over to the Doctor's side.

"What are you doing?" she inquired.

"Oh, just making sure my first two selves are alright." On the monitor, a split-screen display showed the grey haired man that was the First Doctor back in his adventure with the Dalek and the Second Chaplin-esque Doctor returned to his plight with the Cybermen.

"To them," the Doctor remarked. "It must seem as if nothing happened."

The Doctor switched the monitor off and sighed. Mel noticed that he seemed to have a touch of melancholia and asked him what was the matter.

"I don't know," he replied. "I guess… I just go used to them being around."

"I know you'll miss them, Doctor. But they'll always be here…" Mel laid a hand on the Doctor's chest. "In your heart."

The Doctor shot her a puzzled expression. "Er… hearts!" she corrected herself with a wry smile.

The Doctor smiled and bade Mel to follow him. He bounded out into the main corridor and Mel followed somewhat puzzled herself.

The Doctor led her down a route that was becoming familiar to her: The way to the gallery room. "I want to show you something," said the Doctor as he and Mel entered the room that was decorated with majestic works of art.

There on an easel in the center of the room was a new canvass covered by a piece of blue cloth. The Doctor led Mel over to it and placed his hand atop it. That sparkle that seemed to appear in the Doctor's eyes when he got excited had definitely returned.

"What is it?" Mel asked.

"I've been working on it for regenerations," replied the Doctor. "You'll be the first to see it finished!"

Mel beamed as the Doctor grabbed the blue cloth and pulled it away. There on the easel sat a beautiful and—if Mel was honest—somewhat startling painting.

It was the Doctor at the controls of the TARDIS, surrounded on all sides by his six other selves.


End file.
